Have bought a birthday cake for several occasions and would say that PAUL is usually a good choice - their cakes are in no way extraordinary per se but they are a safe bet in that you can expect a fresh, light, simple cake that was probably made on the day. The one pictured has definitely been the most extravagant one I’ve had from PAUL: it’s the chocolate macaron cake. It was definitely a wonderful sight at the birthday but taste-wise far from the showstopper it is described to be on the website. I would say that the small version of the cake probably pays off but with the large version you are not really getting your money’s worth. It’s mostly layers of alcohol soaked sponge interspersed with chocolate and then some more chocolate frosting on top, but to be fair, the exterior of it looks beautiful. The other cakes I’ve had from there are the Forêt Noire, Charlotte Fraise, and the Fleur de Lys cake. They’ve actually all been quite good, probably my favourite one was the simplest, Charlotte Fraise but the Forêt Noire was also a great choice and the Fleur de Lys would be ideal for the chocolate lover. Overall it is a bit disappointing that the store advertises itself as a French patisserie but most of their cakes are quite uneventful and frankly a bit dull after you’ve had them more than once. Only other product I can comment on are the macarons which I would say are definitely a disappointment, especially with some odd flavours that make no sense. If planning for a birthday party, beware that they only take orders the day before the cake is needed which is quite annoying as it might turn out that the actual cake you want is not available. I had this experience when trying to order a small chocolate macaron cake a week in advance and found it extremely annoying that they do not accept advance orders so you have to settle for whatever’s available on the day (for me this meant paying more than planned for a cake that was a lot larger than it needed to be). On the other hand this can be a positive thing if you are doing a last-minute cake run as you don’t need advance notice and can pick up whatever they have fresh on the day (the earlier you come in the bigger your choice so don’t leave it till last minute). Unrelated, but do not go for their “party decor” box of £15 for a bunch of balloons and bunting as it’s a ripoff and you can get a much better deal at a dedicated party store like Card Factory, just across the street. Overall a decent choice if you’re looking to tick a “cake” box at a party but don’t expect too much.

Shocking. Never been to a place where I’m being served my someone with AirPods on. This rude young lady perhaps thinks that she’s too good to be working there. Worst coffee shop I’ve been to without a shadow of a doubt. Congrats 👏

Very nice baguette and coffee the pastries looked sumptuous

Had some amazing pastries here this was one of my faves absolutely delicious. Kind friendly staff loads of seating and great eating!!!!

Don't order cakes from Paul!!! Terrible handling, we got the wrong cake, literally watched them take it straight out of the freezer to bag it for us and then when I went to complain, I kept being interrupted by a rude staff member who was saying how all of their cakes are frozen and this was "normal" and we should have just "waited". The cake tasted like ice from 5 years ago. Absolutely horrible. Better go spend two times less on a supermarket fridge cake - it'll taste better for sure! And Paul is supposed to be a "fancy" French cake shop.... Nonsense.

This place is always busy . Ordered a Birthday cake on their website to be delivered to the Oxford store . I was shocked that they made the wrong cake 🎂 🫣 Therefore the baker 👨‍🍳 changed the toppings for me on the same day . Luckily I wasn’t in a hurry …. Service was ok as the staffs were busy …… Cake 🍰 taste good and everyone enjoyed it 👍🏻 Will buy again next time 😋

great range, great food, great atmosphere and great staff!

Filthy tables and chairs, and the staff had little interest in cleaning up. Afternoon visit and the patisserie selection was pretty limited, but worse the staff would rather hang around behind the counter than actually make the place presentable. We saw another customer having to clear a table so she could use it and we had to do the same, wiping the table and chairs before we could sit down. Staff clearly had no pride or care for the customer experience. Do yourself a favour and seek out an independent café where they take pride in their service.

high end french patisserie in an english city. hot chocolate here in uk is way better than other eu countries. love the freshness of lemon tart!

Big Cheers to your corporate office for cancelling SALAMI ROSETTE sandwich. Way to go to loose customers and get rid of your actual best seller! Paul used to have unique signature touch, but no more. Striving to become average seems to be way forward!

I had an issue ordering a cake through the website. I have contacted them via email and they sorted out my order very quickly, it was ready for collection on the next day. When I went to the shop on the next day, the lady on the counter was very friendly and provided excellent customer service. The cake was absolutely amazing - beautiful, light and delicious. Made my partner very happy for her birthday and we both loved the cake! If I could give 10 stars, I would!

This is a really nice cafe. It definitely feels more upmarket than your standard bakery, but there’s a great number of nice items to try. Unfortunately it didn’t seem that there was many vegan items, which was a little disappointing. But, the macaron frappe that my companion had was super delicious. I’d come back here.

I booked a slot at 15:00-17:00 on 13th Nov to collect my strawberry cheesecake for my friend's birthday, however, when I arrived at 16:30 pm on that day, the store was closed for maintenance WITHOUT ANY NOTIFICATION!!!!!!! Now I not only waste money and time on ordering, waiting and collecting the cake but also have to explain to my friend about how I ruined her big day of the year!!

We stopped for a quick lunch. Sandwich and soup was okay but there was not any information about the ingredients for soup. Chicken and mushroom soup has dairy. Barrista mixed the dairy free milk jug without realising when she was making the coffee. We realised it when we had a sip and when I took the coffee back and tried to explain to her. She did not even listen and told me off that she is hundreds percent sure that it was a dairy free milk. She did not listen to the point that I was trying to make. And the guy who served sandwiches gave me a wrong pastries but I did not bother to discus with him because I was very upset and I did not want to speak while I was upset. The person I was with had my coffee because I did not want to risk my life by having dairy.The conclusion is, I did not enjoy my lunch and paid almost £25. Do not recommend this place.

The food order was wrong, completely leaving out my baguette. The drinks order was wrong. There were at least five people behind the counter but only two seemed to be doing anything. It was chaos in there. A queue of customers angry that they were waiting so long, making louder, and louder comments. The girl making the drinks was swamped because she didn't seem to know how to make drinks so the food was piling up around her while she continually asked what the drinks should be. She was obviously struggling, yet nobody helped her. Concidering the prices you expect a certain level of service, maybe even the slightest amount of respect for the customers. The woman served in front was given the wrong sandwich. The woman sitting next to us complained to us that she'd been given the wrong drink. I definitely won't be going back again.

Everything was perfect!!! Staffs are super kind and the store is nearby city center, so it was nice to get here. Also, coffee is really nice and the most likable in here is dessert. I love it 💕

The cappuccino I ordered here was undrinkable. Absolutely terribly made. I gave it a chance but could not drink it and unfortunately I didn’t have the time to wait in the queue again to complain as I had a tour to attend. I would not recommend the coffee here.

A very unpleasant place. The service staff is impolite. The macron I took was impossibly sweet. Even though I ate there, but for some reason everything was served to me in disposable dishes. When I was eating, a worker was standing right behind me and washing the window. The toilet was closed.

Went to Paul's for breakfast last Friday during a day trip to Oxford with my daughter. We absolutely loved it! Both our regular and oat cappuccinos were delicious, the croissants flakey and buttery and the chouquettes crispy and just sweet enough. Just what we needed! Oh, and the staff were super friendly and attentive. Recommended *****

I have never experienced ruder staff in all my life, I had to leave the store. Asked for a sandwich, pointed it out to the rude member of staff who greeted me by saying ‘there is no line, who is next? Is it you, is it you, is it you really aggressively. Then asked for a cheese and ham sandwich, pointed it out to the guy, he acted like he didn’t know which one and asked me to refer to it by the French name even though the cafe is based in Oxford and I don’t speak French. Once he threw it into a bag and threw it beside the counter, he and the girl on the till proceeded to ignore me while they served the next customer with the sandwich lying beside the till. Wish I could give zero stars, I’ve never had a more uncomfortable and hostile experience in any cafe, restaurant or shop in my life.

I was served on Monday afternoon by an absolute pleasant young man who was named Louis. A big smile on his face before I ordered and I was flustered at all the choices but luckily he recommended some lovely food and drink for me. Staff clearly trained very well.

Lovely staff, great atmosphere and the most beautiful cakes and coffee. Highly recommend. A reason to visit Oxford.